FOOD DISTRIBUTION DRIVE ORGANIZED

FOOD DISTRIBUTION DRIVE ORGANIZED

22-JULY-ENG 5

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA---------------------------Under the aegis of 'Sant Ravidas Janseva Bhojpur Ara'—and presided over by senior BJP leader Santosh Pandey (representative of Rakhi Kumari, Councilor of Ward No. 20, Ara Municipal Corporation)—Rakesh Kumar Gautam (son of Professor Shyam Bihari Singh, a resident of New Colony, Pakdi, Ara) organized a food distribution drive. Meals were provided to dozens of beggars and rickshaw pullers, as well as hundreds of needy, destitute, and working-class passersby. Priority was given to distributing food packets to the homeless who habitually wander the open streets, as well as to the hundreds of needy individuals living in or around the Ara Railway Station and Sadar Hospital premises. Earlier, the speakers highlighted the life of Professor Shyam Bihari Singh, describing him as a source of inspiration. They noted that his simplicity fostered warm relations with college staff, students, and parents alike. It was this affable nature that enabled him to successfully guide dozens of research scholars to earn their PhD and D.Lit. degrees from Magadh University (Bodh Gaya) and Veer Kunwar Singh University (Ara).

H.O.D. On the occasion of the sixth death anniversary of Professor Shyam Bihari Singh—formerly of the Chemistry Department at Maharaja College, Ara—his son, Rakesh Kumar Gautam, joined hands with social worker Amardeep Kumar Jai to provide meals to hundreds of needy individuals, including, notably, beggars from the local Hanuman Temple.

Subsequently, meals were distributed to needy passersby at the Ara railway station premises, as well as to the destitute and homeless—including men, women, and young children—who regularly live out in the open at the station.

Later that evening, around 8:00 PM, food packets were distributed within the premises of Sadar Hospital, Ara, to needy patients, their attendants, and sanitation workers.

Before the distribution began, at Ramna Maidan, Ara, Professor Shyam Bihari Singh's son, Rakesh Kumar Gautam, fed stray cows with bananas, *Motichur* sweets, and *Puri-Sabzi* (as *Prasad*). He then joined the beggars present in offering a collective prayer for the peace of Professor Shyam Bihari Singh's soul, after which the distribution of meals commenced.